On December 12, former US President Donald Trump unveiled his third NFT collection, called the MugShot Edition. As in previous cases, big buyers are entitled to real bonuses: e.g., a physical copy of the mugshot with a part of the suit he wore on the day of his arrest or dinner with a politician. The announcement of the new collection dropped the price of NFTs from the previous two collections: by 25% and 50%, respectively.
Recall that Donald Trump is not a supporter of crypto but, at the same time, makes good money on them. In August, we wrote about the fact that he holds $5 million worth of crypto.
MugShot Edition NFT collection overview
The MugShot Edition collection consists of 100,000 cards, each worth $99. You can purchase them either via cryptocurrency (WETH, a wrapped version of ETH) or with a bank card on the official website. Thus, if all NFTs are sold, the total proceeds will be $990,000.
The NFT collection is made on the Polygon blockchain, just like the previous two. However, this time, royalties to the author are disabled. Yet, the website states that all NFTs in this collection "are non-transferrable until December 31, 2024," meaning that holders will not be able to resell them on the secondary market until that date.
For 200 special Trump fans who bought a one-time purchase of 100 NFTs ($9,900) or more, there is a special offer: 2 VIP tickets to the politician's gala dinner, an invitation to the pre-gala cocktail reception, commemorative souvenirs, and 2 special physical collector cards, one with a part of Trump's suit and the other with a part of his tie.
Those who make a one-time purchase of 47 NFTs ($4,653) will receive special bonuses: dinner with the former president at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, a physical collector's card with part of the suit Trump wore on the day of his arrest, or other memorabilia. Nearly 29,000 NFTs have been bought so far.
Previous two collections, ‘Series 1 and 2’, have also included real bonuses for big buyers, such as calls via Zoom and a joint dinner with Trump. They reacted negatively to the launch.
Why Trump’s Series 1 and 2 fell after MugShot Edition launch
The previous two Trump’s NFT collections reacted to the news unexpectedly: trading volumes rose, but prices fell. Let's look at the changes in both metrics of the two previous collections before and after the announcement.
On December 11, the first collection had a trading volume of 14.5 ETH, with an average price of 0.2 ETH.
However, on December 12, the average selling price dropped by almost 25% to 0.14 ETH, while the total trading volume more than tripled to 46.2 ETH.
The second collection reacted even worse. On December 11, its trading volume was 3.7 ETH, with an average price of 0.041 ETH.
On the day of the announcement, the volume tripled to 11.8 ETH, and the average price halved to 0.02 ETH.
Probably, such activity is connected with the fact that holders are not expecting price growth for old collections of Donald Trump because now the main attention is focused on the new one. On the other hand, there were cases when the mention of the former president in the media led to a pump in prices for his NFTs. For example, in August, Trump's NFTs spiked by 67% after the politician appeared in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
Remember that investing in NFTs involves certain risks. At any moment, their price can change dramatically. Even on the website of Trump's new collection, there is a disclaimer that "Trump Digital Trading Cards (NFTs) are intended as collectible items for individual enjoyment only, not for investment purposes. We are a community of collectors". Keep that in mind if you wish to purchase them.
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